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Month: December 2020

Amadeus (1984)

Amadeus (1984)

“That was God laughing at me through that obscene giggle.”

Synopsis:
Now housed in a mental asylum, aging Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) — former court composer for Emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones) — tells a priest (Richard Frank) about his intense rivalry with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce), whose musical brilliance was often overshadowed by his struggles to support his wife (Elizabeth Berridge) and child.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Biopics
  • Composers
  • Flashback Films
  • Historical Drama
  • Milos Forman Films
  • Play Adaptation
  • Revenge

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that Milos Forman’s “Oscar-winning, large-scale adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s 1979 fictional play about the obsessive jealousy an 18th-century Italian hack composer, Antonio Salieri, felt for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s musical genius” features “great” acting — but he argues that “while the characters are interestingly unusual the first time we see them, they don’t vary in the slightest from then on” and “anyone could fill in their dialogue, reactions, etc.” He posits that “in fact, each time a group of characters gets together, they virtually replay an earlier scene — there are only about four basic scenes in the movie, which are repeated in different settings.” He adds that the “dialogue and situations are embarrassingly anachronistic,” and that “if characters weren’t in fancy period dress… viewers would have laughed it off screen.” Peary does concede, however, that the “period detail and lavish recreations of excerpts from four Mozart operas give the film immense flavor”, and notes that the movie “should be applauded for trying to convey what it is to be an artistic genius, and to show a genius actually in the act of creating.”

I think Peary largely misses the mark in his overly harsh review. If the characters here don’t “vary”, it’s because they’re coherent protagonists in a compelling narrative (consisting of much more than simply “four basic scenes”) which shows the doomed trajectory of a brilliant but insolvent genius (Mozart) — and the lifelong regrets of the man (Salieri) who most fully recognizes Mozart’s gifts while simultaneously cursing God for giving them to such a “shockingly vulgar” young man. The actors’ American accents aren’t distracting, given they’re uniform across the production, and the occasional anachronisms can easily be forgiven if viewing this as a passionate tale of jealousy and revenge rather than a faithful historical biopic (which it’s not; it’s largely fictional). The flashback structure — in which aging Salieri, who has just attempted suicide, explains his “sins” to a priest — works well as a framing device for depicting an aging man coming to terms with his own inadequacies and failings:

… but most importantly, we deeply understand the reverence both Salieri and Mozart held for music — and how challenging it was for each of them (in different ways) to rely on the charity of patrons to survive. Berridge is nicely cast as Mozart’s wife — one can see both why she’s chosen him as her partner, and how he causes her so much consternation.

Meanwhile, the music throughout is — naturally — top-notch; conductor Neville Marriner only agreed to participate in the film if not a single note of Mozart’s music was changed.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • F. Murray Abraham as Antonio Salieri
  • Tom Hulce as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Elizabeth Berridge as Constanze Mozart
  • Beautiful period detail and sets


  • Fine stagings of several of Mozart’s operas

  • Luminous cinematography (with all-natural lighting)

Must See?
Yes, as a noteworthy Oscar-winning film and for the lead performances.

Categories

  • Noteworthy Performance(s)
  • Oscar Winner or Nominee

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

Links:

And Soon the Darkness (1970)

And Soon the Darkness (1970)

“It’s murder — the most unpredictable of crimes.”

Synopsis:
On a bicycling trip across the French countryside, two student nurses (Pamela Martin and Michele Dotrice) part ways temporarily after a quibble — but soon Martin learns Dotrice has gone missing, and she is unsure whether or not to trust a young man (Sandor Eles) who claims to be an amateur sleuth.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Horror
  • Mysterious Disappearance
  • Road Trip

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary writes that if “Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda convinced hippies not to cycle through America’s South” in Easy Rider, then Martin and Dotrice “should convince young women not to bicycle through the French countryside — particularly if a sex maniac is on the loose.” He argues that while “certainly this thriller is no gem,” it “has some suspense and titillation, and, as always, Franklin is a sympathetic heroine-in-jeopardy.” Indeed, not too much happens in this slow-moving film about a couple of naive young travelers who really should have learned a bit more survival-French and decided on a safer route through unknown territory. With that said, director Robert Fuest generates a fair amount of tension through creative framing and pacing, and we’re left wondering until the end how plucky Franklin will get herself out of the mess she’s landed in.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Pamela Martin as Jane
  • Fine direction and cinematography


Must See?
No, but it’s worth a one-time viewing.

Links:

Elmer Gantry (1960)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

“You’re amusing — and you smell like a real man.”

Synopsis:
When smooth-talking salesman Elmer Gantry (Burt Lancaster) falls for a beautiful evangelist (Jean Simmons), he quickly finagles his way into a job with her revivalist group, which is being covered by a skeptical journalist (Arthur Kennedy) — but will Gantry’s past relationship with a prostitute (Shirley Jones) impede his chances at success with Sister Sharon (Simmons)?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Arthur Kennedy Films
  • Blackmail
  • Burt Lancaster Films
  • Dean Jagger Films
  • Hugh Marlowe Films
  • Jean Simmons Films
  • John McIntire Films
  • Journalists
  • Missionaries and Revivalists
  • Prostitutes and Gigolos
  • Richard Brooks Films
  • Shirley Jones Films

Review:
Peary doesn’t review this adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’s 1927 satirical novel in his GFTFF, but he discusses the lead performances in Alternate Oscars, where he names Simmons Best Actress of the Year. In describing Lancaster’s Oscar-winning title role, Peary notes that with his “booming voice, toothy grin, boundless energy, dauntless spirit, exaggerated gestures, two-fisted masculinity, the slickness of a snake-oil salesman, the showmanship of the Mighty Barnum…, and strong doses of tenderness and intelligence”, Lancaster “gave a bravura performance” worthy of acclaim (though Peary hands the actual Alternate Oscars award to Anthony Perkins in Psycho). Regarding Simmons, Peary laments her (relative) career-long lack of recognition by Hollywood in terms of awards, and notes that she’d “been impressive since the mid-forties” but “peaked in Elmer Gantry, giving her most self-assured performance in her most difficult role” as a character based on Aimee Semple McPherson.

Peary writes that “it is the hard, naughty edge Simmons gives her character that makes her exciting”: while “Sharon’s a good person” (she’s a true believer, not a con-artist), “she’s no goody-goody, and no prude”; indeed, “she has as much fight in her as Gantry.” Simmons is indeed luminous and refreshingly tough — and is well-matched by finely cast Lancaster, who apparently stated, “Some parts you fall into like a glove. Elmer really wasn’t acting. It was me.” I’m less a fan of Shirley Jones’s Oscar-winning supporting performance as a blackmailing prostitute (Jones is trying a tad too hard to throw off her peaches-and-cream starring roles in Oklahoma! and Carousel):

… but I appreciate Arthur Kennedy’s convincing portrayal as a journalist who finds himself more deeply involved in his story than he anticipated. Meanwhile, John Alton’s cinematography is beautiful, vividly bringing this specific era of American history to life.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Burt Lancaster as Elmer Gantry
  • Jean Simmons as Sister Sharon
  • Arthur Kennedy as Jim Lefferts
  • John Alton’s cinematography

Must See?
Yes, once, for the lead performances. Nominated as one of the Best Pictures of the Year Alternate Oscars.

Categories

  • Noteworthy Performance(s)
  • Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links: